The Story of the Qur'an

Preface and Acknowledgments to the Second Edition ix
Preface to the First Edition xi
1 God Speaks to Humanity 1
God Hears and Responds 1
Defining the Qurán 2
Ancient Origins of the Meccan Sanctuary 4
The Arabian Context 7
The Arabic Language 11
The Jahiliyya: A Time of Lawlessness and Immorality 13
The Early Life of Muhammad 16
Muhammad as the Messenger of God 18
2 The Prophet Conveys the Message 27
Historicizing the Qurán 27
The Medium and the Message 34
God Is One 37
Moral Conduct and Its Ultimate Consequences 46
Servants of God 50
Persecution of Believers Past and Present 55
Establishing a Viable State and a Just Political Order 61
Building Community 68
A Door to Heaven Is Closed 73
3 The Voice and the Pen 79
A Sacred Pedigree 79
Recited and Written 85
The Prophet and the First Collection of the Qurán 88
The Early Generations: Regional Schools of Recitation and the Elaboration of the Mushaf 100
Standardizing the Curriculum 105
Quránic Recitation and Ritual Life 109
Breaking the Tradition 119
The Value of Memorization 124
Transmission of the Qurán in the Modern Age 127
Conclusion 133
4 Blessed Words: The Qurán and Culture 141
The Qurán as the Word of God 141
The Qurán and Sacred Architecture 147
The Elevation of the Qurán 155
Language, Naming, and Common Expressions 157
Ritual Purity and Purifying Rituals 161
Death, Mourning, and the Afterlife 168
5 What God Really Means: Interpreting the Qurán 185
Exegesis before Hermeneutics 185
The Epistemological Challenge 193
Intertextuality: The Isra'iliyyat 197
Occasions of Revelation 201
Understanding the Language of the Qurán 204
Relating the Sunna to the Qurán 210
Deriving Legal Norms from the Qurán 215
Consensus and Diversity in Legal Reasoning 223
Modernity: Making the Words "Reasonable" 226
Some Contested Issues 235
Inheritance 235
Wife-beating 237
Conclusion 242
6 Conclusion: Listening for God 247
Glossary 267
Bibliography 271
Index of Quránic Citations and References 287
Index 289